The Ghosts of Guavaween past

It's been arty, irreverent, drunken, unprofitable, rowdy, and sometimes violent. What will Mama Guava bring in 1999?

By BABITA PERSAUD

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 29, 1999

Oh, Guavaween, how people don't understand you.

They say you are the same year after year. Never reinventing yourself. Always in a drunken stupor and party-hardy mood. But what they don't know: In 15 years, you have endured the elements of nature, the wrath of city council members, Ybor merchants and the police. You even have survived internal problems, financial and structural.

But what does your future hold?

As we approach the new millennium, we reflect on Guavaweens past and leave a question for the future: Ybor City is changing. Will Guavaween?

Oct. 26, 1985: Some say Guavaween began in 1984. Others claim earlier. But the first Guavaween, where Guavaween was used in the title, was in 1985.

Before that, the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce and Playmakers theater group held their own Halloween parties in Ybor. So did many of the artists, who called themselves the El Sama's.

The parties combined in 1985, as a fund-raiser for Ybor. The name Guavaween surfaced during a planning meeting. Guava came from "The Big Guava," which Tampa was dubbed after the fruit of the tropical tree.

A mascot and myth of Mama Guava was created by a Playmakers' member. Q-105, then the top radio station in Tampa, was the radio sponsor.

Scare up some fun We've searched for the scariest, most fun-filled events of the season. Take a look -- if you dare. Family fun by day, grown-ups howl at night Here is Saturday's schedule of Guavaween events for families in the daytime, and adults in the evening. Ybor stumbled upon Guavaween Modeled upon Mardi Gras, Guavaween's roots run deep in Ybor. The taming of Guavaween Organizers didn't want the party to lose its distinct flavor, but say something had to be done to calm things down. So much fun, it's frightening Visit 600 rooms and a winding maze in a spooktacular five-acre haunted house.

The event began with the Junior Guava Gambit, a children's Halloween arts and crafts festival. Then came the Mama Guava Stumble parade featuring groups in costume and lampooning aspects of Tampa Bay life. Mama Guava rode in a convertible with two polar bears. Afterwards, Playmakers and the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce held costumed balls.

1986: Year two. Mama Guava rides in on a litter, borne by bare-chested men. At the end, they drop her, splitting her costume.

1987: A squabble over proceeds puts Guavaween in the hands of a for-profit group, Guavaween Inc. Balls are held at the Cuban Club, Ybor Square and in the Hillsborough Community College parking lot. Party-goers are allowed to consume alcohol in the roped-off streets as they move from one celebration to the other.

Says Maria Mendez of Guavaween Inc.: "We'd like to get Guavaween to be like Mardi Gras some day, but for now it's just Bohemian: footloose, fancy-free and open-minded."

1988: Costume creativity reigns. There's a car powered by the "gas" caused by Ybor's own black beans, singing jars of guava jelly, a man in a tie-dye T-shirt yells "Die, yuppie scum!" from a beach buggy.

1989: Guavaween grows. Tampa police estimate a crowd of 100,000. But not everyone is out for fun. One man, dressed as a mugger, commits an armed robbery, taking $40 and a rented Freddy Krueger costume. Police arrest an 18-year-old later.

1990: Crowd is 120,000, not counting a squad of state beverage control agents dressed in civilian clothes. They arrest twice as many people as the Tampa Police Department. The youngest offender is 12.

"I think that tells you there is a problem, and you can see why we should be out there," says a beverage control sergeant.

1991: City officials ask Guavaween organizers to beef up security. They spend close to $30,000 fencing a 21-block area and providing additional security. But the fence isn't completed on time.

The crowd is estimated at 250,000. One man is shot in the back for no apparent reason as he walks to his car. He survives. In all, there are more than 100 arrests and nearly 40 rescue calls.

City officials question if Guavaween is worth the risk to public safety.

1992: Mama Guava, whose identity has always been kept secret, gives an interview, revealing a few details of her real life. She has kids and teaches school. "I'm a little bit of everybody," she says.

1993: Heavy rain pelts Guavaween but the parade still goes on. The crowd splits into two camps: voyeurs and exhibitionists. The voyeurs take refuge under the overhangs of stores along Seventh Avenue, while the exhibitionists parade down the center of the street and laugh at the rain.

1994: Trying to cure Guavaween's image problems, the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce decides to turn Guavaween over to a professional promoter, CC Event Productions. Budweiser becomes the main sponsor and, for the first time, people are charged $5 admission to Ybor. National musical acts All 4 One and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts perform.

To offset the racy nighttime festivities, Guavaween Family Fun Fest is added. Kids can trick or treat at Ybor Square, make ghost hand puppets or even get tattoos -- albeit temporary ones. "Halloween is really for kids," says one parent in attendance.

1995: After years of drunken mayhem and bad press, Guavaween features the lowest number of arrests for years. "It was just like it was the first few years," says Mama Guava.

1996: The year of the Butthole Surfers controversy. Ybor merchants and Tampa City Council worry the band, along with Type O Negative, who have been known to expose themselves on stage, might cause crowd control problems. The council debates canceling Guavaween. Parade promoters say they are only trying to attract more younger people. The event is held, under tight security. The Butthole Surfers and Type O Negative perform late, drawing a large crowd, without a problem.

1997: Musical acts are toned down. Guavaween '97 features classic rocker Edgar Winter and the country-western band Buffalo Club.

1998: Papa Guava pulls out. Long a grand marshal along with Mama Guava, Papa Guava, aka Steve Otto, a columnist for the Tampa Tribune, calls the event "too raunchy." CC Events scrambles for a replacement, booking Edward Leslie, a wrestler and friend of Hulk Hogan, who wears leather chaps instead of traditional purple guava costume.

1999: Last Guavaween of the century. Grand marshals this year: Mama Guava and drag queens from Pleasuredome. CC Events organizers say they want to return the event to its creative side.